Cincinnati Bell sees data center business as foundation for cloud, managed services

Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB) faces the same industrywide challenge of declining PSTN revenues, but it believes that data center services are one of the saving graces for its wireline industry segment.

Although Gary Wojtaszek, who was appointed president of Cincinnati Bell's CyrusOne data center subsidiary in August, said recently that the initial focus will be on providing colocation services, he's just as excited about venturing into new areas including managed and cloud services.

To date, Cincinnati Bell has built out 17 data centers in six locations, including Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Texas and England, with plans to extend that footprint into Phoenix and Singapore.

Earlier this month, Cyrus One added 65,000 additional square feet of space in its North Dallas data center in response to growing demands for colocation space.

Wojtaszek's bullish data center services outlook isn't unfounded. In Q2, Cincinnati Bell reported an 83 percent increase in data center revenue and a 22 percent increase in IT Services and Hardware sales.

For more:
- Business Courier has this article

Earnings summary: Wireline in the second quarter 2011

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